My Ethiopian Friends
The people here are nice. very nice. one of the best things about the mission is the area surrounding it. As Abebe told me, Piazza and Bole are the only parts of Addis that are like a city, the rest is like a village. My hotel is in Piazza and on my short walk (200 yds) from the hotel to the taxi stop, I pass at least 10 different bars and countless people. But when I get off the taxi and start walking towards the Mission, it feels more like a village.
There is Tza'ai, the girl who works at my internet cafe where I go every day for part of my 3 hour lunch. There is Daniel, the guy who works at the "pool hall" (1 table) and he gives me a big hug every time i pass by (~6x/day). He has also made it his mission to teach me amharic, so every day he tries to teach me a new phrase of general conversation. So far, I know the first 2 lines of any basic conversation (hello and how are you? - i'm a slow learner). And then there is the lady at the restaurant who told me to come back anytime and kept asking how the food was, the staff at the juice stand around the corner who see me every day, and then the countless individuals who shout out 'faranji' (essentially 'white person'), 'hello', 'how are you', or any other english phrases they know.
I would say that on every walk I take through the city, I have 20+ people shout hello, another 10 who make general conversation, and then 3-5 kids who look at me with big puppy dog eyes and come over to shake my hand (these figures are ignoring the hundreds of beggars - children and adults alike - who shout at me for money and sometimes follow me for blocks with their hands out waiting for a birrh. Every day though, a new person comes up to me to practice their english, I give a friend a hug, or shake hands with a random, passing child. All in all, the people are remarkably friendly.
One other great cultural characteristic is the lack of prejudice against people with handicaps - mental, physical, etc... Rick asked Semegnew if any kids had made fun of his back (severe scoliosis, even after surgery), and he said no because ethiopians believe that if you make fun of someone with a disablity, you are bringing a curse on yourself. In light of this, the people are kind to all in a way that you don't see in many other countries.
There is Tza'ai, the girl who works at my internet cafe where I go every day for part of my 3 hour lunch. There is Daniel, the guy who works at the "pool hall" (1 table) and he gives me a big hug every time i pass by (~6x/day). He has also made it his mission to teach me amharic, so every day he tries to teach me a new phrase of general conversation. So far, I know the first 2 lines of any basic conversation (hello and how are you? - i'm a slow learner). And then there is the lady at the restaurant who told me to come back anytime and kept asking how the food was, the staff at the juice stand around the corner who see me every day, and then the countless individuals who shout out 'faranji' (essentially 'white person'), 'hello', 'how are you', or any other english phrases they know.
I would say that on every walk I take through the city, I have 20+ people shout hello, another 10 who make general conversation, and then 3-5 kids who look at me with big puppy dog eyes and come over to shake my hand (these figures are ignoring the hundreds of beggars - children and adults alike - who shout at me for money and sometimes follow me for blocks with their hands out waiting for a birrh. Every day though, a new person comes up to me to practice their english, I give a friend a hug, or shake hands with a random, passing child. All in all, the people are remarkably friendly.
One other great cultural characteristic is the lack of prejudice against people with handicaps - mental, physical, etc... Rick asked Semegnew if any kids had made fun of his back (severe scoliosis, even after surgery), and he said no because ethiopians believe that if you make fun of someone with a disablity, you are bringing a curse on yourself. In light of this, the people are kind to all in a way that you don't see in many other countries.
Comments
What are you doing most nights? Have you been to any of the bars or the pool hall? Do you go out alone?
How is the food?